The school beauty, with tears in her eyes, froze for a moment. She stared blankly at Qiao, as if something had stirred her heart. When Qiao realized what he was doing, he quickly tried to withdraw his hand, but she held onto it tightly in her daze.

She pressed his hand to her face and gently brushed it, rubbing his palm like a kitten as she softly said, “It’s fine. I’m just a crybaby. Since I gave you these things, they’re yours, and you can do whatever you want with them.”

Qiao’s ears started to blush faintly, though the redness was subtle. He furrowed his brow and tried to pull his hand back again, but the school beauty held on with an almost sticky persistence. Everyone in the class began to cough conspicuously, making it sound like the whole class had caught tuberculosis.

I rolled my eyes, scanning the classroom before focusing back on Qiao. His lips, tightly pressed together, became a deeper red under the pressure. He finally managed to pull his hand away, and with a hint of frustration in his voice, he said bluntly, “Please don’t give me anything else. I won’t accept it.”

As soon as he spoke, the school beauty’s tears began to fall again, adding a hint of awkwardness to the atmosphere. However, she didn’t appear embarrassed; that discomfort fell on Qiao and the bystanders.

A few of the boys, feeling indignant on her behalf, spoke up to scold Qiao, but he ignored them and continued studying his textbook. The moment she heard them criticizing Qiao, the school beauty stopped crying and immediately defended him, standing protectively over him like a mother hen.

As expected, the bell rang for the next class. She quickly wiped away her tears, reached out, and playfully poked Qiao’s cheek. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Please don’t be mad at me.”

With that, the school beauty trotted out of sight, her laughter as clear as birdsong, as if the sadness from earlier had vanished completely.

Qiao’s face immediately took on a deep red, a blush that mixed with a hint of greenish tension. His expression shifted between embarrassment and irritation—perhaps both at once. I glanced at her graceful figure retreating out the door and clenched my hand involuntarily.

Even though class had started, people couldn’t resist teasing Qiao; egging him on was more fun than studying. One person started joking, and soon the whole class joined in. Usually, Qiao remained calm and unruffled when teased, but this time, he seemed slightly flustered. I remember watching as his face grew redder and redder, like he was running a fever.

It wasn’t until the teacher entered that the class settled down, flipping through their books, and Qiao’s flush finally faded. Sitting in the back, I watched him closely, not looking away for a second. I noticed… he touched the spot on his cheek where she had poked him.

Just then, Liao Sixing, who had been curiously eyeing Qiao, looked back and met my gaze. Startled, I quickly lowered my head. Feeling like someone was watching me, I glanced up, only to make eye contact with him again. He grinned, flashing his steel braces, and pointed to Qiao with a silly smile.

A piece of green vegetable was stuck on his shiny braces, as if he planned to save it for a midnight snack.

In front of us, Qiao followed Liao Sixing’s gaze and looked back at me. Our eyes met for a few seconds, and the look Qiao gave me was as indifferent as if I were any other person—or perhaps even more indifferent, making me feel like a stranger.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he even recognized me. Did he know my name?

While I worried over this, Qiao turned back, lightly tapping Liao Sixing’s buzzed head as if reminding him not to slack off. I saw his lips move, and I could make out the words “The slow bird flies first.”

This class left me feeling sluggish and uninspired. I lay down on my desk and drifted off to sleep, fortunately hidden behind a pile of books. The teacher didn’t move around, so he didn’t catch me slacking off.